


Take Me Home

by The3rdTrumpeteer



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: A little angst, but also a little adventure in a way, these kids look out for each other, weather prediction is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 19:18:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16270667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The3rdTrumpeteer/pseuds/The3rdTrumpeteer
Summary: Crutchie, Buttons, and Henry get caught in a storm.





	Take Me Home

“The wind’s really startin’ to pick up,” Specs said with a worried glance out the window. He looked at Jack. “I don’t see ‘em. What if they don’t get back in time?”

“They will,” Jack replied, though he didn’t look too sure. “It’s barely even stormin’ outside, Specs. Besides, Crutchie said it wasn’t gonna rain tonight.”

“Crutchie’s leg is not exactly a reliable weather source,” Specs muttered. He looked out the window again. The sky seemed significantly darker than it had been thirty seconds prior. “Him and Buttons and Henry went to Jacobi’s an hour ago. It’s not far.”

“They probably just got distracted.” Jack’s voice was clipped now. He turned to Davey, who sat with Les on one of the beds; they had opted to stay at the lodging house for the night because Sarah was sick, and Mrs. Jacobs didn’t want them to catch her cold. “Right, Davey?”

“Uh…” Davey obviously didn’t want to get involved in the spat. “Yeah. Probably. But maybe we should-”

_Crash!_

Sudden thunder shook the room, and everyone jumped. Les yelped and grabbed Davey’s arm, and across the room Tumbler had clambered into Skittery’s lap.

“Rain’s here,” Specs said grimly. Jack looked and found he couldn’t see the street outside through the downpour. The sound of rain pounding on the roof and windows was deafening.

“Damn.” Jack ran a hand through his hair. “We gotta go get ‘em. Even if they’re still at Jacobi’s, there’s no way they’ll be able to find their way back in this shit.”

“I’m comin’.” Race abandoned the cards he had been shuffling, probably to calm his nerves, and stood up.

“I’ll come, too,” Davey said.

“Specs-” Jack started, but he didn’t even have to ask.

“I’ll make sure everybody stays safe, Jack,” Specs said.

“Thanks.” Jack jammed his hat on his head and turned to Davey and Race. “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

There were always a lot of adults at Jacobi’s Deli in the evenings, so it took Crutchie, Buttons, and Henry longer than they expected to get their usual orders of water and half-sandwiches.

The sky was dark when they left the restaurant, sandwiches hastily eaten. The clouds were moving incredibly fast, and the wind was getting stronger by the second.

“We gotta get back before it gets worse,” Buttons said, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth than it began to rain, quickly drenching the three newsies. “C’mon, guys.”

They hurried down the street, shivering and trying to see through the sheets of rain, but it was nearly impossible. 

Perhaps half a mile from Jacobi’s–or a mile, or two, none of them were sure anymore–Crutchie lost his footing in a particularly deep puddle and hit the ground on his hands and knees. Henry and Buttons hurried to help him up.

“Crutch, you okay?” Henry asked. Crutchie just nodded and took his crutch from Buttons, who had picked it up, ignoring the way it stung his scraped palm. His knees ached now, too, and he was sure they were going to be bruised in the morning.

“We can’t stay out here,” Buttons said. “It’s too dark, and the wind’s tryin’ to–ow!” Some debris had flown out of nowhere and hit him hard in the face, slicing his cheek open. Even the heavy rain couldn’t wash all the blood away, and Buttons’ face, neck, and shirt collar were already stained red in seconds. He held a hand tightly to his cheek in an effort to staunch the flow.

Crutchie unwrapped a strip of cloth from his crutch and handed it to Buttons, who took it gratefully.

“This is bad,” Henry said, echoing what the other two were thinking. “This storm’s tryin’ ta kill us!”

“The only place we can go is the lodgin’ house, and I can’t even tell where we are anymore!” Crutchie turned to Buttons. “We gotta-”

“Crutchie!” It was a yell that sounded more like a whisper in the howling wind, but the three newsies still heard it. They squinted in the dark, and after a few moments, Jack appeared, barreling toward them. Davey and Race were close behind. “Buttons, Henry! We found ya!”

“Not a moment too soon, either,” Henry said. “We thought we were about to get swept away!”

“Buttons is hurt, Jack!” Cruchie gestured to the other newsie’s face. “Somethin’ flew right outta the storm and got ‘im. You know how to get back to the lodgin’ house, right?”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “Don’t worry. We were just real worried about you guys. You were wrong about the weather today, Crutch.”

“I guess I was.” Crutchie grinned. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“We can yell at Crutchie later for his faulty weather-tellin’ skills,” Race said. “Right now, I just wanna get back inside and not have to worry about dyin’ out here!”

Jack nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”

The wind roared and the rain stung, but soon the six could see the dim light of the candles that still sat in the front windows of the lodging house, unaffected by the weather on the other side of the glass. It was a welcoming sight, one that meant the newsies would survive another night, another storm, just like they had before.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr: poorguysheadisdoingwhatnow


End file.
